Hood catch



R. G. MOORE May 7, 1935.

HOOD CATCH Filed Dec. 8, 1932 Gttorneg Patented May 7, 1935 1 UNITED STATES noon CATCH Raymond G. Moore, Bridgeport, Conn assignor to The Bassick Company, Bridgeport, Conn, a

corporation of Connecticut Application December 8, 1932, Serial nmeiazz 2 Claims.

'5 of the hood with keeper brackets secured to the chassis, the rock shaft means being actuated by an operating handle arranged exteriorly and at a central or intermediate point upon the hood.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a catch which may be constructed economically, and in which the actuating movements into operative and inoperative positions may be effected with relative ease, and which will be efficient and reliable in its function of securely holding the hood downwardly and inwardly.

With the above and other objects in view, embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawing and these embodiments will be hereinafter more fully described with reference thereto and the invention will be finally pointed out in the claims.

in the drawing:

Fig.1 'is a horizontal sectional View through the hood and frame and showing the catch in plan, the same being in its operative position, and intermediate portions of the hood and rockshaft being broken away.

Fig. 2 is an interior elevation in the operative position. I Fig. '3 an interior elevation showing the catch in its inoperative position, the keeper means'not being. shown.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. '5 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2. V

Fig. 6 is a perspective view' showing the coupling member employed for connecting the actuating crank arm to the rock shaft.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, the automobile hood "I3. is adapted to close in the usual manner against the. lacings II and [2 of the radiator frame l3 and cowl portion I4 of the chassis.

Upon the inner face of the hood, and preferably at a central point between the hood ends there is riveted, or otherwise suitably secured a bracket plate I5 having an outwardly flanged bearing aperture l6 therein in axial alignment with a slightly larger aperture ll in the hood.

The handle 18 is provided with a reduced diameter shank portion l9, which is engaged with said aperture it with a rotary andslightly loose fit, and is provided with flats 20- 20 at opposed sides at its portion projected inwardly from the plate 15, screw threads 2! being provided at its end. A crank arm 22 is engaged upon the fiat- (01. 292-215) I r I tened portion of the shank, being providedwith a non-circular opening '23 adapted tofit snugly thereon, and being secured by a nut '24 and lock PATENT washer 25.. The slightly loose fit of the handle shank in its bearing permits a' slight tilting of the crank arm for the purpose of detentingin the operative position, as. will hereafter more fully appear. v

The crank arm is provided. at one end with a lip 26 bent therefromat an inwardly and down wardly inclined angle, and upon which is rigidly mounted a pin 21 having an annular shoulder 28 near its lowerend, this 'lower end being engaged in an aperture in the lip and secured by heading over, as at 29. y I

The other endof the crank arm is out inat its sides to provide a plate. engaging detenting portion 30 of reduced width, and which has cooperative engagement. with the plate, as will hereinafter more fully appear, to limit movement of the crank arm and retain it in operative and inoperative positiona The rock shaft 3|, which extends longitudinally along the interior of the hood at each side of the bracket plate 15, isjournaled in bearing bracket portions 32-32 struck and bent from the bracket plate near its vertical edges, and is also journaled near its outer ends in bearing brackets 33-33 secured ,iriteriorlyj upon the hood Q Between the bearings brackets 32 -32 the rock-shaft is curved to provide an arcuate crank portion 34, which is operatively connected to the pinl'l of the crank-arm 22; in such manner that rotation of the crank arm imparts rotational movement to the rock-shaft.

For this purpose the pin is provided with a slidably mounted swivel coupling member preferably formed and bent from sheet metal, and

" comprising arectangular fiat base portion 35 having perforated ears 36-46 bent from its ends in one direction and slidably engaging the pin, and slotted ears 3'|3l bent from its side edges in the other direction and engaging the arcuate crank portion 34 of the rock shaft. The end of the pin is provided with pinched outlugs 21 to retain the coupling member there- The. outer ends. of V the rock-shaft are bent outwardly and longitudinally to provide offset crank ends 38 and 39, disposed parallel to the rock shaft, the offset of these crank portions being relatively greater than that of the arcuate crank portion 34 and also being angularly offset with respect to said portion 34. The crank portions 38 and 39 are adapted to engage angular keeper brackets 4'0 and 4| suitably mounted on the radiator and cowl, or upon any other vconvenient part of the chassis, in proximity to the hood ends. These brackets are illustrated as formed of sheet metal and their engaging faces, which are preferably disposed at an angle of about 45, are respectively provided with pressed out rounded ribs 42 and 43 for engagement by the crank ends 38 and 39, providing positive and firm engagement, irrespective of variations in the mounting and disposition of the parts.

The rock-shaft is formed of a suitable spring metal, so that the crank ends 38 and 39 may be sprung to a different angular relation to the central crank portion 34 under the torsion and tensional effect of the rock-shaft. In the operative position, Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, with the crank ends 38 and 39 in engagement with the keeper brackets, this tension presses upon the pin 21, causing the plate engaging detenting portion 30 of the crank arm to be pressed tightly against the plate l5. This action is utilized to detent the crank arm, and thus hold the parts in operative position, as will presently more fully appear.

For this purpose the' plate I5 is provided with a pair of pressed out stop bosses 44 and 45 against which the foot abuts in its respective operative and inoperative positions, so that'the operating handle is limited to a definite swing of in the illustrated exemplaryembodiment. An 'arcuate rib 46 is pressed up from the plate extending from a point contiguous to the boss 45 to a point spaced from the boss 44 to provide a detent pocket into which the portion 30 drops in the operative position. The end of the rib is slightly beveled, as at 41, so that in releasing the crank arm to permit it to swing to inoperative position the foot may be forced out of the detent pocket onto the rib surface. It will be seen from Fig. 4 that the handle shaft I9 has a slightly loose fit in the flanged aperture 16 to permit the crank arm to have a slight tilting movement, permitting it to drop into the detent pocket between the stop 44 and the end of the rib 46 in the operative position, and to frictionally engage the surface of the rib in the inoperative position, this frictional engagement being suflicient to retain the handle in inoperative position and to maintain the rock-shaft in its inoperative position with the crank ends 38 and 39 lying flat against the hood surface.

The operation is as fol1ows:-

As shown in Fig. 3 the hood catch is in its inoperative or released position, the crank ends 38 and 39 being disposed in parallel relation against the hood surface clear of the keeper brackets, the rock-shaft being held in position to retain the crank ends in this relation through the frictional engagement of the detenting end 30 of the crank arm 22 with the arcuate rib 46 of the bracket plate 15. In this relation the hood may be brought into closed relation against the lacings without interference of the crank ends with the keeper brackets. As the operating handle I8 is swungfrom the inoperative position shown in Figs. 3 to the operative position,

shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, the crank arm swings the arcuate crank portion 34 upwardly, the pin 21 being disposed atthe under sideof said arcuate crank portion and pushing upwardly thereon. The rock shaft is thus rotated, first bringing the crank ends 38 and 39 under and into engagement with the keeper brackets 40 and 4|, whereupon they are sprung under tension through the torsional twisting of the rock shaft caused by the further movement of the arcuate crank portion 34 as the movement of the handle l8 and crank arm 22 is continued into abutting relation with the stop boss, the detenting portion 30 of the crank arm 22 dropping at this point into the detent pocket adjacent the stop boss 44, where the tension exerted by the rock shaft presses it into firm engagement, thereby retaining the parts in operative position. The hood is thus effectually held downwardly and inwardly through the angularity of the keeper brackets. To disengage the catch the handle I8 is turned with sufficient initial force to overcome the detenting tension holding the crank arm 22, the detenting portion 39 first riding up upon the beveled surface 41 of the rib 36, and being then swung against the stopboss 45, in which position it is held by the and it will be obvious that changes may be.

made therein, within the spirit and scope thereof, asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:-

1. A hood catch actuator for, operating keeper engaging catch means, comprising rock shaft means having a catch portion adapted to be engaged with said keeper upon rotation of said rock-shaft means. in one direction and an arouate actuating crank portion for rotating said rock shaft means, a manually operable crank arm rotatable about an axis at right angles to the axis of said rock shaft means and including a rigid extension having its end extended beyond and being disposed at one side of said actuating crank portion adapted upon rotation of said crank arm to press said crank portion in one direction to rotate said rock shaft into operative position, and a member including a base portion disposed between said rigid extension and said actuating crank portion, apertured portions at each end and at one side integral with said base portion and. rotatably engaged with said rigid extension and a portion at the other side slidably and rotatably engaged with said actuating crank portion adapted upon rotation of said crank arm in the opposite direction to draw said actuating crank portion in the other direction to rotate said rock shaft to inoperative position, said rigid extension being at all times out of direct contact with said crank portion.

2. A hood catch actuator for operating keeper engaging catch means, comprising rock shaft means having a catch portion adapted to be engaged with said keeper upon rotation of said rock-shaft means in one direction and an arcuate actuating crank portion for rotating said rock-shaft means, a manually operable crank arm rotatable about an axis at right angles to the axis of said rock shaft means and operatively connected to said actuating crank portion for rotating said rock shaft means, bearing means for said crank arm in which it has loose engagement and whereby said crank arm is adapted to have tilting movement in addition 

